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Brennan's Raiders
GENERAL DESCRIPTION Brennan's Raiders was the band of outlaws who existed between the years of 1897 to 1913 under John "The Quickfire Kid" Woodlock. HISTORY Brennan's Raiders was formed in 1893, after the death of John Woodlock's wife, Claire "Rose" Woodlock, and the destruction of The Hanging Dog Ranch by Klaus Von Bettstadt. John hunted Klaus from the mountains of The Grizzlies to Río Bravo in the span of 6 years. During the journey, John had made himself as big as a target as Klaus, from robberies to kidnappings, he racked up a large bounty across all states. Initially starting as a one-man gang on a personal vendetta, by the turn of the 20th Century the gang had swollen to 40 members. MAIN MEMBERS John "The Quickfire Kid" Woodlock - Leader Ollie "The Butcher" Roberts - Enforcer Wind "The Farmer" Cries - Bodyguard "The Boy" Joe - Gunslinger Corey "The Kid Clfc" - Guide Theodore Bags - Advisor THE GANG'S JOURNEY 1893-1896 Despite being a successful foreman at Blackwater, John's money was stolen from his ranch at the fire by Klaus and his gang, to get funding for weapons, John had to resort to contracted crimes from politicians, outlaws and police to hunt down people, blackmail others and kill who needed to be killed, as long as John received money. However, the more jobs he took, the more jobs were being created to take him down, eventually, he had to turn away from society in general, only making rare appearances in local towns to purchase ammo and weapons. 1897 While camping in the wilderness of Tall Trees, John was chased and eventually cornered by lone bounty hunter Ollie "The Butcher" Roberts, however, the outlaw convinced the bounty hunter to align sides with him in the promise that he would receive all the money from Klaus' own bounty and his own if he helped him to hunt down Klaus. Ollie accepted the offer, initially for profit, however on the travels with John, he fell in line with the philosophy of the vendetta, associating it with Ollie's own feelings of vendetta after his time in the army during The Battle of Wounded Knee. 1898 John and Ollie were ambushed by Klaus' men in Río Bravo, as the two fought the horde of bandits with rapidly depleting ammo, they were saved by the duo, Wind "The Farmer" Cries and "The Boy" Joe. Despite hesitations from Ollie on the recruitment of Wind Cries, John ultimately welcomed the duo into the outfit. Although Wind and Ollie were cold to one-another, their shared time and philosophy created a friendship in the gang's two polarizing members. Throughout the ensuing four months, Brennan's Raiders had located Klaus' whereabouts at Saint Denis, ultimately taking the group across the entire state. VICTORY AT VICTORY STATION At Saint Denis, John, Ollie, Wind and Joe began to attack local saloons and interrogate gang members in order to relinquish information about Klaus. One member of Klaus' gang gave up information sufficient enough to locate the leader and his plan to leave the city via boat, to repay the member, John had personally slit his throat before leaving the body to rot, Joe discouraged against reckless killing, but saw it as an opportunity to tie up loose ends, and to avenge the loss of his home. Within a week, John and Ollie had constructed a plan to corner Klaus and to kill him. On the eve of New Years, 1898, the gang attacked the villa of Klaus, slaying his guards with haste. With Klaus alerted, the gang chased him as he rode his horse to the pier in Saint Denis, and watched him board onto his ship to escape, with little hesitation, Ollie and Wind threw dynamite onto the ship with remarkable accuracy as John and Joe fired at the outlaw. Silent after the hail of hellfire, the gang watch the boat explode and sink into the river, with Klaus' fate certainly met, they left the pier to isolate themselves before they pack up and return to the wilderness. Luxury of a Raider Category:Albums However, their plans were quickly shattered, as after a week of their supposed victory, several remnants of Klaus' gang assaulted the camp, with the Raiders eliminating the attackers, one was hog-tied by Wind as he was viciously interrogated by Ollie with an assortment of blades and weaponry, with the man's dying breath, he revealed this hit was commissioned by Klaus himself, who miraculously survived the destruction of the boat. Enraged, John kicked the dying man in the skull, letting him bleed over the camp's grass. WILDERNESS While out in the wild, Joe, Wind and Ollie began bonding over fishing, hunting and telling stores of their life and experiences, through this, Ollie and Wind warmed to one-another, both empathizing with each other's past and began to see past their prejudices. Throughout the journey, John and Joe planned to eliminate Klaus once and for all by luring him into Armadillo before killing him. The gang roamed once more from Saint Denis to Armadillo over the course of five months, living off the meat carved by The Butcher, medicine crafted by The Farmer, defended by The Boy and The Quickfire Kid from any law enforcement, bounty hunter and paid killer on their journey. VICTORY AT ARMADILLO In late June, Raiders had reached Armadillo with their plan to eliminate Klaus. It was hatched when Klaus had met John in the saloon alone, the two angrily stared at one-another in a deep silence, however Klaus suggested to duel outside in the street, and the winner walks free from the whole situation, John agreed and took his paces against his wife's killer, when the paces were met he quickly spun around, aiming his guns towards the man, however it was too late as Klaus pulled the trigger first, yet neither men were dead, stunned, Klaus realized his revolver was empty of bullets. As he looked up at the outlaw who made a name for himself in the blood of everything he lost, Klaus ran from Armadillo, directly towards the post office. Yet, it was futile, as walking out of the office was Wind, who smashed Klaus' face against the door of the office and down to the ground. Slowly approaching behind was Ollie and Joe, who watched Wind lift the gang leader into his arms and turn towards John, with Klaus pleading at each step to be let go with the promise of gold and lifelong comfort, yet these words felt on arrogant ears. When Klaus was planted belly-first at the feet of John, he cursed him with misery and pain. John dragged the leader towards a water trough outside of the saloon, picking him up and dropping him in the shallow container, face down. Klaus struggled to move onto his back to breathe however John held down his head with his boot crushing his neck, Klaus soon passed due to his injuries and lack of air. With Klaus finally dead, John raised his arms as he looked at Ollie, willing to finally fulfill his side of the deal for his assistance in killing Klaus, however, Ollie walked up to John and lowered his arms, symbolically letting his friend know that this journey meant more than his life for money. With that being sealed, Ollie grabbed Klaus' body from the trough and walked towards the Sheriff's office to claim the bounty. After receiving his payment, Ollie returned to the camp, along with John, Joe and Wind. The Raiders drank and celebrated their victory over the infamous outlaw for a few days before John and Joe presented their plan to the others; to rebuild John's ranch and to live there, peacefully. The two agreed and with the money Ollie earned, they packed up and traveled to Hanging Dog Ranch. HANGING DOG RANCH Along their journey, the Raiders stumbled upon countless outlaws and gang members, many of which appreciated the work the Raiders did against Klaus and joining their side, while many resented the loss of an Old West relic. When the Raiders reached Hanging Dog, their numbers swelled to about 40 members, many of which partook in protecting the gang and building the ranch. It took roughly 8 months to completely rebuild the ranch and to finally rebury the departed in a small cemetery behind the barn house. Despite losing his home to strangers and outlaws, John was paradoxically welcoming of the Raiders into his new home, demonstrating his new outlook on life after his wife's death. 1903 - 1904 In early February, 1903, Ollie was greeted by a heavily injured Raider who explained that John and several members were killed by bounty hunters, angry and grief-stricken, Ollie got the Raider to rest before his death and began to fortify the ranch, however, John was ambushed by bounty hunters who fired at the band of Raiders, killing several and injuring others for capture as John fired back until all his chambers were empty. On fleeing the area, John was shot in the side from a rifle round, incapacitating him to be arrested and sent to Sisika Penitentiary on the account of his crimes. Ollie became increasingly-more paranoid during the construction, opting to steal larger weapons and more munitions from military strong-points off of rouge units, making a larger target on his back in the process. John spent 9 months in prison awaiting execution, and, on December 8th he was sent to the mainland to be trialed in front of court in Saint Denis. On his arrival to Saint Denis, the prison wagon was tilted over in a storm, knocking the occupants over as the spooked horses driving the wagon fled the area, with no way to move John, the guards opted to drag John to Saint Denis. John was moved through the swamps outside of Saint Denis in the storm, wet and injured from the fall, while fading in and out of the remaining fragments of his reality, he was awoken with a forced drop onto the swampy grass as the guards hid from the weather. John began to lose consciousness as he heard sloppy stomps from behind, once again awoken, John turned his head to see the hidden guards' bodyparts latched in the jaws of several alligators. Frightened, John attempted to run in his shackles, only to step on a snake and to be bitten on the leg, falling over once more, in pain, John crawled further and further away from the swamp, finally passing out from the scenario on the main road to Saint Denis. The people (who were named the "Free Ones") allowed John to stay and to help them fish and hunt for supplies over the coming weeks, and by the end of March, 1904, John had payed the Free Ones and helped them develop their lands and homes to modern and respectable standards, creating a sheltered and strong community before leaving, hitching a wagon to the West to reconnect to his people. 1907 In the Summer of 1907, the ranch was finally seized by the rouge unit, resulting an attack, claiming the unit's power and weaponry with injuries on both sides. After the attack, Ollie created another plaque celebrating the victory and remembering the fallen. During this time, Ollie had finally lost it and became a dictator, working the Raiders harder to be more efficient and alert. This came to a head in late July as an insurrection rose through the town, only to once more be squashed by the Raiders, resulting in the injury of Cries as he was slashed across the heart by the insurrectionists, Cries was noted as to be taking down at least 12 men with a hatchet before being attacked. Another loss of people resulted in Ollie finding newer men to teach and command. 1909 - 1910 For years, John held security over meetings with an old and dusty shotgun to scare off any deviants with little to no difficulty, building up the reputation of his persona, "Merchant". Until one meeting in October of 1909, where several butchers in local areas and tycoons disagreed over payments, as John grabbed a crusty bottle from his pocket, wondering when he can return home without dying from bounty hunters, a blast scared him, dropping his bottle and smashing it. As he searched for the source of the blast, he saw the butchers dead with the tycoons aiming weapons at him. Defeated, John lowered his shotgun, raising his arms as the men lowered their weapons, and their boss stepped forward, looking John in the eyes with surprise as he reached out his hand, ready to shake it. John slowly shook the hand and lowered his scarf as the man spoke, introducing himself as the "Hellfire Harris", hailing from the swamps of the Free Ones as a child to see John help his people. The young man knew it was no Merchant he saw, but The Quickfire Kid. Surprised on why he is in Blackwater, he asked John why he didn't return home, John explained that law enforcement have been eyeing up the roads since his escape years ago. Pondering for a second, Harris opted to clean up John in a suit, a clean cut and to drive him out of the city in the protection of his tycoon. John graciously took up the offer and allowed Harris to drive him to Hanging Dog inside of the Model T, John was astonished how a Free One made a name for himself to buy an automobile, and on inquiry, Harris revealed that he used to listen to John talk to the Free Ones about how to hold your own in the modern world, allowing Harris to make money from his construction business and meat-packing factory further East, he also revealed that he eliminated the butchers for their entrapment and murdering of cougars, which made them endangered in the area. John felt pride as Harris let him sleep in the automoblie as it traveled on gravel-paved roads all the way back to his home. When he woke up, John saw a different ranch than he remembered; it was more reinforced, the front fences were replaced by large stone walls and the entrance now held a gate with armed men standing there. Ollie awoken to a commotion outside the walls, seeing the young men he commanded run down the streets out the gate, moving quickly, Ollie met the guards, with one grabbing a suited man, angered, Ollie clenched his fist and whacked the guard across the back of his skull, dropping him as the suited-man looked up, into Ollie's eyes. Ollie knew under the age, that it was John Woodlock, not dead, yet scarred and weathered. Ollie shook his friend's hand strongly, noting that he had to act tough for the newbies in town. From there, the men celebrated as John told his story, and they told theirs of how they built the ranch into a city of freedom after one injured survivor from the ambush returned to the ranch briefly before his death. The event was so strong that a plaque was erected in the graveyard to remember those who were ambushed that day. Through the next few days, Harris and John explored the new city, allowing the duo to learn from each other before Harris returned to civilization, keeping contact with John long after he left. On Feburary 8th, 1910, John attended the Memorial Day at the yard, giving a speech on the braveness and respect he held for those men. MEXICO In the early morning of January 5th, 1912, John was greeted by the sight of a lone, injured man while out on guard duty. The man explains in raspy breaths that he recently escaped a prison in Mexico and sought refuge before he can get back on his feet and go back. With weapons drawn, the man knew he was surrounded if he tried anything. John asked the man why he wished to return to Mexico. The man explained a cache of gold beyond reasonable measures slept in the caves, and he offered to split the gold 50/50 between him and his posse if they assist him; John, seeing the opportunity to use the gold to pay off the bounties and debts of all his posse in order to let them lead normal lives once more, took no hesitation in agreeing. The man, who introduced himself as Corey “The Kid Clfc” was invited into the ranch’s main home, where he was given supplies and a bed to sleep. Throughout the weeks of recover, John decided on which gang members he would take, and in the end he compiled a list consisting of Himself, Corey, Ollie, Joe and Cries, when the day arrived where they decided to move, John had put the ranch in charge of another aspiring member and local leader named Theodore Bags. Stocking up, the gang began to traverse among the plains with a map to guide them. Along the journey to the Mexican border, Corey explained to the men that the gold belonged to former pirates who had left the stock there for when they returned with the “Largest bounty to even overshadow what’s already there.”, however the same story also told them that their ship was later sunk by cannons off the coast of Ireland in 1708 after a daring heist led astray. When the gang reached the San Luis River, they followed the newly-built train tracks across into Mexico, avoiding local law enforcement as they followed the map along the coast for the next two months. APRIL, 1912 By April, the gang had arrived at El Mejor Cambio, the area where Corey fled and learnt of the gold. From there, the gang had to follow Corey’s instructions from the story; “a cave where the gold slept”. The gang had set up a camp by a nearby waterfall and while they all took time to comprehend the situation, John pondered the phrase on how it was worded; it was irrational, gold doesn’t sleep, but it does lies dormant, maybe in a cave, but the extraordinary weight requires an some accessibility. With that thought, John decided to go undercover, and to blend into the local society. Searching for clues, John noticed the immaculate villa stood on a cliff, and with further snooping, he saw the area was heavily guarded. John believed that the villa is where this gold is held, but with the guards, he knows he’ll be shot if he attempts to go in through the gates. However, in a moment of genius, every piece of the phrase clicked with his interpretation; the gold sleeps in the cave system that must connect the villa to the bottom of the cliff. Excited on the proposition, John returned to his gang and stumbled upon their creation of a boat which they were going to use for fishing. On explaining his theory, Ollie opted to use the boat with John to find out if it is true or not, and the two had set out later that day to the sea. As they left, Cries was vocal on not attacking this villa head-on as they have the raw power in his opinion, however Joe once more had to explain to his friend that even though that they're strong enough to take over the world, it would be silly to waste it on people who can't comprehend what they're doing, implying that attention would also be negative. Cries listened, although reluctantly, opting to vent by hunting. John mapped the area until he spotted the opening under the villa, where he believed the gold rested, verbally noting that it must be the cave system, he ordered Ollie to turn around and to help him plan. Joe kept guard until John and Ollie returned, excited with the story that the theory was true. John now had elaborated a plan with the gang too, this one would need another raft, and Joe began to work. MAY, 1912 Over the month, the gang had created two large enough rafts from local resources to sail in and steal enough gold for them to be wealthy. With the rafts’ completion, John’s plan came to fruition as that very night, the gang boarded the rafts towards the cave, and once they broke inside, John lit his lantern, examining the chamber they entered, John could see that it is also an armory, holding ammunition and explosives. With an idea storming, John continued onward into the cave to find a lone ladder which reached upwards, climbing it, slowly he saw it went into a chamber right above the armory, and, with an exasperated sigh, saw the shimmers of gold dance along with the swaying of his lantern. Joe took his time, admiring the room and conversing with Corey, who seemed happy to be working alongside such a group of men, with a slight movement in his eyes, Joe turned to see Wind with his weapons drawn as he saw a light approaching them and John emerged, Wind holstered his guns and saw John had pointed upwards to the men, trying to hide his excitement, he quietly spoke of a plan which includes the dynamite. Joe seemed confused at first on the proposition, but he soon copped that above them slept the treasure. However, seeing how alert the guards were before, John told Joe and Wind to move the ammunition and machine guns onto one of the rafts just in case there is large enough resistance. While they loaded up the guns and ammo, John and Ollie grabbed dynamite, which they fastened between the cracks and crevices of the cave along a lengthy wire. When the gang was done rigging one room, John used the wire and climbed back up into the room full of gold, to rig the floors surrounding the massive pile in the middle of the chamber. With the final stick wired-up, John heard a gasp, as he turned around he was struck across the face by a large, dapper-looking Mexican. John swung backwards as he fell onto his side, with the Mexican towering over him, John reached up with a punch, striking him in the groin, and as he fell, John raised up to wrap his hands around his throat, choking the man as he pleaded to be let go. Angrily, John continued choking until he saw the man beginning to fade away, then, let him go. Ollie took this time to ponder his choices and his faith towards John, as he didn't even see a single piece of gold since entering the cave, however, that was halted as John returned to the lower areas, bruised along his face, to ignite the cave. As John gave the all clear to the gang they heard more men climbing down the ladder, with a quick ignition from a match, John and the gang reached the safest area of the cave; in direct view of Cries and Joe's guns. As guards fired at Ollie and John, they dived to the ground and Cries fired unrelentingly into guard after guard in the dark, briefly and shockingly stopping once he heard the agonizing scream as Corey as a stray bullet tore his leg, preparing to jump off the raft and towards the new member, Wind was stopped by the deafening explosion, blowing him backwards into the water. Once he recovered, Joe realized Cries was nowhere to be seen, aside from the faint blood drops in the water, Joe panicked as he reached into to grab anything, and was overjoyed when he felt his native friend's arm grab back, and with all the power he could muster, pulled Cries onto the raft, only moving the raft once he heard John shout to them to load up the boats and to escape. While quickly loading the gold, Joe realized that Corey wasn't with them, saddened, he moved faster so he can search for him, however, noticing his last whereabouts are now behind a debris wall, Joe boarded onto the rafts and sailed off into the night with an injured Cries accompanying him. SEPTEMBER, 1912 Back in America, the gang had a coach carry the weapons and gold back to the ranch, they also had added Corey's named to the graveyard beside the barn, signed with "Bravery among Brothers" by John. and with the arrival of the guns and gold, John had arrived into Valentine's post office with the name and bounty money of each and every member, which was cleared off over the coming months. Going back home, John had decided to expand the ranch and to create new homes for the members, expanding over the nearby fields and land with homes, stores, saloons and other amenities. The members had now been given a chance to leave the ranch alive, and to peruse a life they couldn't before; few left, and many stayed. With the land finally completed, Wind began to farm once more, growing crops on the ranch and even the creek beside the ranch with flowers to bring life among what was lost. The Raiders had resided there since its completion. After the group was disbanded and the remaining gang members created a town from the local area, Joe, Ollie and Wind remained at the ranch for the remainder of their lives, as the only family they had lived there.